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Interior Rating:

Inside the Levante’s upmarket cabin, passengers are treated to plenty of luxury and convenience features befitting a vehicle of this price. Outward visibility is excellent, boosting confidence when maneuvering in tight spots or changing lanes in traffic.

What’s New for 2018?

New GranLusso and GranSport trim levels add a few interior flourishes for 2018. GranLusso models are available with no-cost Ermenegildo Zegna silk and leather interior trimmings and wood accents; GranSport Levantes get a unique steering wheel, heavily bolstered sport seats, and sport pedals.

Front-Seat Passenger Space

Back-Seat Passenger Space

Interior Features

At first glance, the inside of the Levante appears rich and well appointed, especially in our Levante S test vehicle, which featured the full-leather treatment in a rich dark-brown hue. Open-pore wood trim, a leather-covered dashboard, tasteful chrome accents, and the traditional Maserati analog clock all give the Levante a classy and old-school luxury ambience. Looking closer reveals parts that are obviously shared with other Fiat Chrysler brands—for example, the window switches, wiper-control stalk, and ignition button match the Jeep Cherokee’s—which is a disappointment. The controls are functional, however, and better than some of the ergonomically questionable examples Maserati has come up with on its own over the years. Speaking of ergonomics, the driving position in the Levante is great and clearly set up for spirited motoring. Most vehicle functions, including the climate controls, are adjusted through an 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment display with a secondary control knob just aft of the shifter on the center console. Dual-zone front climate control is standard, but a four-zone setup is optional. Maserati provides space for six beverages, including two inside the center-armrest storage bin.

Feature

Standard/Optional

Tilting steering column

Standard

Telescoping steering column

﻿Standard

Power-adjustable steering column

﻿Standard

Heated steering wheel

﻿Optional

Power-adjustable pedals

﻿Optional

Memory driver’s seat

﻿Standard

Massaging driver’s seat

﻿Not available

Massaging front-passenger seat

﻿Not available

Power driver’s seat

﻿Standard

Power front-passenger seat

﻿Standard

Heated front seats

﻿Standard

Heated rear seats

﻿Optional

Cooled front seats

﻿Optional

Cooled rear seats

﻿Not available

Head-up display

﻿Not available

Rear-seat entertainment system

﻿Not available

Seat Adjustments

﻿2017 Maserati Levante S

Fore/Aft

Recline

Shoulder articulation

Lumbar support

Height

Thigh support

Side bolster

Headrest tilt

Driver’s seat

X

X

X

X

Front-passen-ger seat

X

X

X

X

Climate Control

﻿2017 Maserati Levante S

Manual climate control

Automatic climate control

Dedicated vent(s)

First Row

No

Two-zone

Yes

Second Row

No

No

Yes

Cupholder Location

Vehicle Tested: 2017 Maserati Levante S

Interior Sound Level

Modern cabins do an excellent job of insulating passengers from ambient noise, but none can completely eliminate the sharp sound of the wind and the drone of tire noise when you’re traveling at highway speed. To measure the interior sound-pressure level, we use a Brüel & Kjær Type 2250-L sound meter, which we position in the middle of the first row of seats at the height of the driver’s ear. The meter automatically averages 15 seconds of sound in A-weighted decibels (dBA), taken while the test car is cruising at 70 mph. (A-weighting is an industry standard that adjusts decibel readings to better reflect how the human ear hears various frequencies.) We take two measurements and average the results. We also correct for speedometer inaccuracies with our GPS-based data loggers. It is worth noting that decibels are a logarithmic unit, so a rating of 40 decibels isn’t twice the sound pressure of 20 decibels; it is 10 times the sound pressure. A six-decibel increase roughly doubles the sound pressure.

Test Results: Interior Sound Levels at 70 mph

Seating Height

The driver sits lower in the Levante than in other crossovers here, which often makes it easy to forget you’re piloting an SUV. To accurately measure seating height—the distance from the road to the driver’s hip—we use an H-Point Machine (HPM), a precisely engineered device marketed by SAE International. This versatile tool, in conjunction with a laser device, reveals the width and location of roof-pillar visibility obstructions (blind spots). Our HPM and laser measurement tools determine the length of road obscured by the hood as well as the road obscured by the trunk or hatch (as seen through the rearview mirror).

Test Results: Seating Height

Blind Spots, Visibility, and Obscured Roadway

Although it lacks the characteristic commanding road view of a traditional SUV, the Levante’s outward visibility is good for this class.

Roof pillars protect occupants in a rollover crash, but they also create blind spots. We determine visibility by measuring the location and width of each pillar using an H-Point Machine and a laser beam (surrogates for a driver and eyeball, respectively). Front and rear visibility are calculated by subtracting the viewable area blocked by the pillars from a perfect 180-degree score.